Apparatus for setting up cartons



Oct. 3, 1967 R. A. PEARSON APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTONS Filed Dec. 10, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 3, 1967 R. A. PEARSON 3,344,717

APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTONS Filed Dec. 10, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z3 I5 I I0 I N VE NTOR. REM/#01 0 R PEFRJ 0 19167 R. A. PEARSON 3 45 APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTONS Filed Dec. 10, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet a I s 33 I 32 a J k7 as 42/ I 2 2o :1 la 65 o 4 INVENTOR.

PTTYJ 'Oct. 3, 1967 R. ALPEARSON 3,344,717

- APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTONS I Filed Dec. 10, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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1967 R. A. PEARSON 3,344,717

I APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTONS Filed Dec. 10, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. PEINHOLD H. PIHRJON Oct. 3, 1967 R. A. PEARSON 3,344,717

APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTONS Filed Dec. 10, 1964 'r Shets-Sheet v fla- 11 INVENTOR RE/fi/IOLD n. PEHBJON United States Patent 3,344,717 APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTONS Reinhold A. Pearson, R. A. Pearson Co., S. 12 Division, Spokane, Wash. 99202 Filed Ben. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 417,422 4 Claims. (Cl. 93-53) This invention relates to an apparatus for expanding and opening box or carton blanks in a carton setting up machine. 7

Carton setting up machines are utilized to automatically open fiat carton blanks of corrugated or other foldable material. The blanks may be self-locking, as in the case of six-packs utilized in the beverage industries, or may have bottom flaps that must 'be mechanically folded. In some instances, the expanded cartons are passed to another machine for further operations. The present invention is concerned only with the expansion of the cartons to an open rectangular condition and not with any further operations that might be necessary relative to folding of flaps. It can be utilized in machines of the type shown in prior Patent No. 2,780,148, or in Patent No. 2,827,838. In certain instances, it might replace the previous type of mechanical mechanism illustrated in Patent No. 3,062,106.

It is a first object of this invention to provide a pneumatically operated mechanism for expanding box or carton blanks from a collapsed position to an open rectangular configuration. This is accomplished by use of a cylinder having the requisite travel and by utilizing the proper angular relationship between the cylinder and the carton blank being expanded.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hydraulically operated mechanism that will properly grasp each carton blank with sufiicient accuracy to enable it to be utilized in high speed operation without missing individual cartons. The present invention accurately guides the apparatus that expands the carton walls so that it follows the natural movement of the walls as the carton is being expanded.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a device that is extremely simple in construction and which eliminates a great deal of mechanical connections previously found necessary in similar applications.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for opening cartons that can be mounted entirely above the cartons, thereby eliminating all obstructions to the side of the carton. By eliminating side obstructions, this area is made available for loading purposes, so that a carton can be expanded and loaded at a single work station rather than at two separate work stations, as is the case at the present.

These and further objects will be evident from a study of the following disclosure, taken together with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one preferred form of my invention. It is to be understood that the form of the invention shown in the drawings, including one modification illustrated with reference to the basic structure, is not intended to limit or restrict the application of my invention, which is set out in the claims that follow.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of the machine utilizing the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view taken from the left in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side view opposite to FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1, the machine being turned 90;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 55 in FIGURE 4 at an enlarged scale, alternate positions of the cylinder assembly and carton being illustrated in dashed lines;

3,344,717 Patented Oct. 3, 1957 FIGURE 6 is a simplified sectional view of the pushing mechanism as it would be seen along line 66 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a simplified sectional view of the carton blank delivery mechanism as it would be seen along line 77 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the opening cylinder assembly as seen along line 8-8 in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary simplified sectional view of the movable stop assembly as seen along line 9-9 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view through the locking wedge as seen along line 10-10 in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged side view of a modified form of the expanding cylinder assembly as it would be seen along line 1111 in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to FIGURE 5, but illustrating the form of the cylinder assembly shown in FIG- URE 11. i

Referring now to the drawings,'rnuch of the apparatus shown in the present machine is not directly concerned with the present invention, but is necessary in order to understand the complete environment within which the invention is utilized. A general description of the supporting mechanism is therefore believed to 'be desirable.

The basic rigid supporting framework is designated by the numeral 10. It is a rectangular framework, supporting all of the elements of the machine in fixed positions relative to one another. At the rear of the framework 10 is an upwardly extending hopper 11 having inside dimensions capable of storing an upright stack of collapsed carton blanks. The hopper 11 can have any particular form and is preferably offset angularly from the vertical, depending upon whether the bulk of the carton being handled is at its forward edge or at its rearward edge. In the present case, the hopper 11 is shown tilted in a forward direction. The bulk of the cartons would therefore be along its rear end, as in thecase of a six-pack having a partition and self-locking bottom wall at the rear of the carton blank as it is stack in the hopper 11.

The framework 10 is provided with a pair ,of transversely spaced longitudinal rails 12, 13 that extend along its full length (FIGURE 4). The rails 12, 13 extend along the sides of the hopper 11 and are provided so as to support the transverse end of the carton blanks as each blank is drawn downwardly from the hopper 11.

The individual cartons are pulled from the hopper 11 by means of a delivery cup 14 that is seen best in FIG- URE 7. The cup 14 is mounted on a longitudinal lever 15 pivoted at 16 to a bracket on the framework 10. The cup 14 is biased downwardly by a tension spring 17 connected between an extension on the lever 15 and the framework 10.

The movement of the cup 14, as well as movement of all of the other operations of the present machine, is governed by a continuously rotating shaft 18 rotatably supported in a transverse position on the framework 10. The shaft 18 has a cam 20 used to move the lever 15 through a cam follower 21 and connecting arm 22. The shape of the cam 20 is such that the lever 15 will be pivoted upwardly about its pivot axis 16 once during each revolution of the shaft 18. During the remainder of each revolution of shaft 18, the lever 15 will remain at rest in the position shown in FIGURE 7, the elevation of the cup 14 being even with the top surface of the rails 12 and 13, so that a carton pulled from the hopper 11 by cup 14 will rest on the rails 12 and 13.

From the position directly below hopper 11, each carton blank must be pushed forwardly to a work station at which it is expanded. This forward movement is accomplished by the mechanism seen best in FIGURE 6. It includes an upright pusher lever 23 pivoted at its lower end to the framework 10. The lever 23 is biased in a forward direction by means of a long tension spring 24. The positioning of the lever 23 is governed by a cam 25 fixed to the shaft 18. The cam 25 is engaged by a cam follower 26 on a connecting arm 27 that is pivoted to the pusher lever 23. It can be seen from FIG- URE 6 that the normal position of the lever 23 will be at the rear end of the framework during most of the rotation of .the shaft 18. However, the single identation in the periphery of the cam causes the lever 23 to rather quickly pivot in a forward direction once during each rotation of shaft '18 and to then return to its original position as illustrated in FIGURE 6. It can also be seen from FIGURES 6 and 7, which show the cams 2t) and 25 in a timed relation, that the forward movement of the lever 23 will immediately follow the downward movement of the lever 15'and cup 14, so that each carton is moved forwardly immediately after being drawn downward from the hopper 11.

The moving cartons are supported on the longitudinal rails 12, 13 along the full length 'of the framework 10. Howeven'at' the front end of the framework, they receive additional support from three longitudinal support plates 28. These plates 2-8 are at the same surface level as the top surface of the rails 12, 13. The center plate 28 is provided with two upwardly directed vacuum cups 30 that are set flush with its upper surface and adapted to grip the abutting carton surface resting thereon. At each side of the rails 12, -13 are upright side guides 31, 32 respectively. These guides simply maintain the carton blanks in their desired transverse locations relative to the framework 10. At the right of the machine as shown in FIGURE 1 there is provided a front stop 22 that is fixed relative to the framework 10 and adapted to abut the front surface of the moving carton blanks along one edge.

A fixed stop 33 can be used along one side or edge of the carton, since the carton will be expanded to an upright rectangular configuration as shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 1 and will therefore clear the stop 33 when ejected forwardly from the machine. In order to provide a stop along the remaining side of the carton, a movable stop is utilized in the manner shown in FIG- URE 9. The movable stop 34 is slidably guided within a vertical tubular bearing 35 fixed to the framework 10 adjacent the front end thereof. The stop 34 is controlled by a cam 36 fixed on the driving shaft 18. The cam 36 is abutted by a cam follower 37 on a connecting arm 38, the arm 38 and stop 34 being biased downwardly against the cam 36 by means of a tension spring 40 anchored to the framework '10.

The shape of the cam 36 is such that it will remain above the top surface of the plates 28 during most of the rotation of the shaft 18. Cam 36 has one indented area which will result in retraction of the stop 34 momentarily. The cam 36 will be timed relative to the cams 20 and 25 so as to retract the stop 34 during forward movement of the cartons due to the lever 23.

Also provided on the framework 10 is a vacuum system, which will not be described in detail. The vacuum pump, either mounted on the framework 10 or at the exterior of the machine, is connected through a vacuum breaker 41 best seen in FIGURE 3. The vacuum breaker 41 is connected to the cups 14 and 30, which require vacuum at the same time during the operation of the machine. It is operated by cam 42 on the shaft 18 having a single raised lobeya-long approximately 90 degrees of its circumference so as to break the vacuum during approximately one quarter of the period of revolution of shaft :18. The cam 42 operates the vacuum breaker 41 through a connecting lever 44 and cam follower 43.

The improved structure by which the cartons are actually expanded is shown in detail in FIGURES 5 and 8 and is shown also in FIGURES 1 through 4. It involves a double acting pneumatic cylinder 45 having a mounting bracket 46 fixed to its underside. The bracket 46 is pivotally connected to the standard 47 extending upwardly from the framework 10. The pivotal connection between bracket 46 and standard 47 is designated by the numeral 48.

The downwardly directed piston rod 50 of the cylinder 45 has three vacuum cups 51 fixed to a bracket 49 at its lower end. The cups 51 are designed to "fit directly above the respective cups 30. The cups 51 are connected by means of a hose 52 to a vacuum breaker 41 and are operated in unison with the previously described vacuum cups. 7

The cylinder 45 is free to pivot about the pivotal connection 48 relative .to framework 10. However, as can be seen in FIGURE 4, when the rod 50 has been fully extended, there is a tendency in the cylinder 45 to pivot in a clockwise direction due to the pressure exerted on the carton by the cups 51. This tendency to pivot upwardly is detrimental to proper completion of the vacuum connection to the carton, and is controlled by means of a wedge 55. The wedge is fixed to the upper end of a sliding rod 53 that is fixed to the bracket 49. The rod 53 is slidably carried by a tubular bearing 54 at the side of cylinder 45. The wedge 55 therefore moves with the piston rod 50. It is normally completely free so as not to restrict pivotal movement of the cylinder 45. However, at its lowermost position, as shown in full lines in FIGURE 5, the wedge 55 fits beneath a bracket .56 that is fixed to the standard 47. When the wedge 55 is in engagement with the bracket 56 (FIGURE 10), the cylinder 45 is prevented from pivoting clockwise as shown in FIGURE 5. I

The cylinder 45 is angularly directed downwardly toward the work station at the plates 28. The cylinder 45 is adapted to grip the carton .directly above where the lower vacuum cups 30 will engage the side wall of the carton adjacent to the side guide 32. The upper vacuum cups 51 will engage the opposite side wall, there being an upwardly facing end wall interposed between the upper side wall and the guide 32. In this manner, both side walls will be engaged by the cups, and movement of the upper cup '51 will cause the carton to expand in the manner shown in FIGURE 5 until it reaches a completely expanded rectangular position. Pivotal movement of the cylinder 45 is .necessaryin order. to accommodate the pivotal motion of the expanding carton side. As can be seen in FIGURE 5, the cylinder 45 will have the same angle relative to the framework 10 when the rod 50 is fully retracted as when it is fully extended. However, during movement of the rod 50, the angular relation of the cylinder 45 to the framework 10 will vary.

Due to the rectangular nature of the carton, the angle at which the cylinder 45 is normally set relative to the framework 10 isat an angle 45 from the vertical. At this angle, the vacuum cups 51 will be in a horizontal position when they engage the carton walls and when they hold the carton side wall at its fully expanded location. This makes maximum use of the vacuum pressure.

This type of device can be used quite effectively for any type of carton. However, I:have found that when using this opening arrangement for expanding cartons with ,aself-locking bottom wall, the pulling motion of the vacuum cups 51 is sometimes not sufficient to fully lock the bottom wall of the carton. In such a case, I provide a second cylinder 57 similar to the cylinder 45. However, .it is mounted in a fixed position on the framework 10 by means of a bracket 58 and upright standard 60. The lower end of the piston rod in the cylinder 57 is provided with a plate 62 directed toward the opposite corner of the carton from that engaged by the vacuum cups 51. The only purpose of the cylinder 57 is to quickly direct a blow to the corner of the carton as shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 1 to insure that the carton bottom wall is snapped into its locking position. The cylinder 57 does not assist in actually expanding the carton, but only in locking the bottom wall of it.

The two double acting cylinders 45 and 57 are operated from the main shaft 18 by conventional control equipment. Generally, they utilize single lobe cams 63, 65, which respectively trip switch operators 64 and '66 to cause the cylinders 45 and 57 respectively to move their piston rods to a fully expanded condition. The cylinders 45 and 57 are hydraulically connected so that they automatically reverse when fully extended.

Mounted on the framework is a motor 67 that drives the shaft 13 at a continuous rate of speed by means of a chain 68 and driven sprocket 70 (FIGURE 2).

It is believed that the operation of the apparatus is evident from the description given previously. The individual carton blanks have not been illustrated in detail to eliminate unnecessary confusion in the drawings, however, the blank is shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 1 in its fully expanded condition. The blank is shown in section in FIGURE 5 and in dashed lines in a partially expanded location. The carton blank itself can be either a typical box with folding flaps or can be a carton of the type used as six-packs in the beverage industries. It can have a self-locking bottom wall or might not.

After being fed from the hopper 11 by the cap 14, each carton is pushed forwardly by action of the lever 23. After the carton has reached the work station and is in abutment with the fixed stop 33 and the moveable stop 34, the bottom side wall is gripped by the lower vacuum cups 30. Almost immediately, the cylinder 45 is operated by the cam 63 to cause the vacuum cups 51 to engage the opposite side wall, preferably adjacent to its corner with the end wall which is also facing upwardly in the collapsed condition of the carton. The cylinder 45 immediately reversesto expand the carton as seen in FIGURE 5. When the carton has reached its fully expanded position with the end walls vertical, the auxiliary cylinder 57 is utilized, when necessary, to jolt the carton so as to ensure locking of the bottom wall where a selflockin-g wvall is utilized.

After the carton has been expanded, the moveable stop 34 is retracted and the feeding of the next carton to the work station will reject the expanded carton in a forward direction. The entire cycle will repeat itself once during each revolution of the driving shaft 18.

In FIGURES l1 and 12 is illustrated a slightly modified form of the expanding cylinder. A cylinder 45' is mounted on a bracket 46' about a pivot connection 48' on an upright standard 47' as previously described. The piston rod 50' is provided with downwardly directed vacuum cups 51 on a bracket 49'. The vacuum cups 51 are connected to the vacuum breaker by means of a hose 52. So far, the structure is not significantly different than that previously disclosed. a

In place of the guide rod 53, this form of the invention accurately controls the angular position of the cylinder 45 at all times by means of a crank arm 71 pivoted at its lower end to the framework 10 and pivoted at its upper end to the bracket 49. The crank arm 71 has an olfest configuration so as to enable it to clear the adjacent side guide 32 as can be seen in dashed lines in FIG- URE 12. The pivotal connection between the framework 10 and the crank arm 71 is as close as possible to the corner between the side guide 32 and the rail 13, so that the pivotal radius of the cylinder 45' relative to framework 10 will approximate the pivotal radius of the carton as it expands upwardly against the side guide 32. Again, undesired upward forces on the cylinder 45 are resisted due to the mechanical connection afforded by the crank arm 71 and the force exerted on the carton by the vacuum cups 51' is diminished from that which would be exerted due to the weight of the cylinder apparatus 6 in that embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 through 10. However, both types of structures have been effectively used on production machines. The basic operation of the machine is identical when equipped with either type of cylinder assembly.

One great advantage of this type of expanding apparatus is that it can be mounted entirely above the path of the cartons and does not require that the ends of the carton be blocked by mechanical apparatus. Thus, a carton can be expanded and loaded at a single station, since the expanding cylinder will not block the space required by apparatus to automatically fill the cartons at the same location at which they have been expanded. In most forms of previous equipment of this type, the cartons were expanded at one location and then moved to a second location at which they were filled. This was necessary due to the fact that the expanding mechanisms were more complicated and normally blocked the end of the carton so that it could not be filled.

The basic mechanism involved, namely the cylinder assembly and its relation to the work station at which the carton is located, can be applied to many types of carton handling machinery. Therefore, the specific structure shown in the drawing is not intended .to limit the application of this invention to any one particular type of machine. Only the following claims are intended as a definition of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An apparatus for expanding collapsed rectangular cartons having parallel end and side walls, comprising:

a rigid suppoting framework;

a carton work station having a carton blank supporting surface thereon located in a horizontal plane;

a side guide mounted on said framework extending upwardly along one side edge of the carton blank supporting surface;

an upwardly directed vacuum cup fixed to said framework and flush with said surface;

a cylinder pivotally mounted on said framework above said surface outwardly of said guide and including a reciprocable piston rod slidably mounted therein extending angularly downward toward said upwardly directed suction cup;

a downwardly directed vacuum cup mounted on the outer end of said piston rod;

and means on said rod selectively engageable with said framework to limit pivotal motion of said cylinder assembly relative to said framework when said rod is fully extended.

2. An apparatus as set out in claim 1 wherein said lastnamed means comprises:

a supporting rod parallel to said piston rod and mounted on said piston rod for integral movement therewith;

a wedge member fixed to the upper end of said supporting rod;

and a fixed bracket mounted on said framework in the path of movement of said wedge adapted to be engaged by said wedge when said piston rod is in its fully extended position relative to said cylinder.

3. An apparatus for setting up carton blanks having first and second side walls joined respectively at their ends by a pair of end walls,

a rigid supporting framework including a carton blank supporting Work station comprising a surface on which blanks are individually located;

vacuum means on said framework recessed in said surface engageable with one side wall of a blank located at the work station to maintain said one side wall stationary relative to said framework;

a cylinder assembly pivotally connected to the framework about an axis parallel to said surface, said cylinder assembly being spaced outwardly from said surface, said cylinder assembly including a reciprocable piston rod angularly directed toward said surface, the piston rod axis being located in a plane perpendicular to said surface;

outwardly directed vacuum gripping means at the outer end of said rod to selectively grip the remaining one of said side walls on a blank;

and means on said rod selectively engageable with said framework to limit pivotal motion of said cylinder assembly relative to said framework when said rod is fully extended.

4. An apparatus as set out in claim 3 wherein said lastnamed means comprises:

a supporting rod parallel to said piston rod and mounted on said piston rod for integral movement therewith; a wedge member fixed to the upper end of said supporting rod;

and a fixed bracket mounted on said framework in the path of movement of said wedge adapted to be engaged by said wedge when said piston'rod is in its fully extended position relative to said cylinder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

FRANK E. BAILEY, Examiner.

N. ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner. 

3. AN APPARATUS FOR SETTING UP CARTON BLANKS HAVING FIRST AND SECOND SIDE WALLS JOINED RESPECTIVELY AT THEIR ENDS BY A PAIR OF END WALLS, A RIGID SUPPORTING FRAMEWORK INCLUDING A CARTON BLANK SUPPORTING WORK STATION COMPRISING A SURFACE ON WHICH BLANKS ARE INDIVIDUALLY LOCATED; VACUUM MEANS ON SAID FRAMEWORK RECESSED IN SAID SURFACE ENGAGEABLY EITH ONE SIDE WALL OF A BLANK LOCATED AT THE WORK STATION TO MAINTAIN SAID ONE SIDE WALL STATIONARY RELATIVE TO SAID FRAMEWORK; A CYLINDER ASSEMBLY PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE FRAMEWORK ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID SURFACE, SAID CYLINDER ASSEMBLY BEING SPACED OUTWARDLY FROM SAID SURFACE, SAID CYLINDER ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A RECIPROCABLE PISTON ROD ANGULARLY DIRECTED TOWARD SAID SURFACE, THE PISTON ROD AXIS BEING LOCATED IN A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SURFACE; OUTWARDLY DIRECTED VACUUM GRIPPING MEANS AT THE OUTER END OF SAID ROD TO SELECTIVELY GRIP THE REMAINING ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS ON A BLANK; AND MEANS ON SAID ROD SELECTIVELY ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FRAMEWORK TO LIMIT PIVOTAL MOTION OF SAID CYLINDER ASSEMBLY RELATIVE TO SAID FRAMEWORK WHEN SAID ROD IS FULLY EXTENDED. 